


out of luck

by Spada



Category: Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst, Enemies to Lovers, F/F, M/M, Rival Relationship, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-02
Updated: 2020-03-17
Packaged: 2021-02-27 16:20:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,577
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22090003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spada/pseuds/Spada
Summary: Raihan is feeling absolutely great. His roommate seems like a blast to be with, his dorm has a great view of the pond, he has his own bathroom, and it seems like nothing could go wrong. Plus, Kabu was the RA for their floor again this year, and Raihan couldn’t wait to go bother the Physics PHD candidate once more.Everything was looking up to be a great school year.He hears footsteps out in the hall, heading closer towards their door and—“Raihan, is that you?”Scratch that.Raihan could recognize that voice anywhere, and he felt his world falling to pieces. Out of everyone in the world, why did it have to be him?As he turns his head to look towards the door, he locks eyes with Leon.The same Leon who bested him all throughout high school, the same one that stood in the spotlight that Raihan desperately wanted for himself. The one who took his sports scholarship and the spot as king for their senior prom. The one who thrived in the spotlight, leaving Raihan in the dark.The same Leon that he was lucky to avoid all throughout last year.“Damnit.”or: the college au, enemies/rivals to lovers fic for dankiba that nobody asked for
Relationships: Dande | Leon/Kibana | Raihan, Dande/Kibana, Leon/Raihan, Raihan/Leon
Comments: 30
Kudos: 215





	1. - one -

**Author's Note:**

> an idea from the champion time discord has led me to writing this,, there are a LOT of headcanons for this fic and I can't wait to write them owo

With a huff, Raihan set down the final box filled with his belongings, looking around his new dorm room for the year. As quickly as summer came, autumn soon replaced its wake, bringing around his second year at Wyndon University. His days of lazing around ended as moving day came, bringing him back to his home away from home.

His mother had already left with teary eyes and a proud smile, adding in a final, “Work hard, honey. If you need anything make sure to call, and come home on the weekends once in a while.” Giving her a tight hug, he watched as she disappeared down the hall, waving at her one last time before he turned around to greet his packed items.

Time to get to work.

By the time he thinks his new roommate should be coming in, he’s mostly done with his side of the room. His clothes are neatly put away in his closet, his bed is made and it hides the tacky mattress underneath, and there a few knick knacks littering his desk on top of his new notebooks and other school work. It reminds him of last year, except this time, he’s a little more organized after learning his lesson last year.

“Ah, hello,” a soft greeting came from the door, and Raihan turned his head, smiling at the newcomer. 

“Hey,” Raihan greeted back with a small wave. “You must be Piers, right?”

Said man nodded, and Raihan grinned, holding out a hand from him to shake. 

“Raihan. Nice to meet you, new roommate!”

Raihan pushes the last of his stuff on the floor closer to his side of the room (in which he also apologizes for choosing a side without asking Piers) and helps the other carry a few things in. Immediately, he seems like a chill guy: he brings in an electric guitar, as well as a keyboard that he sets on the desk before fiddling with the metal stand. 

Raihan doesn’t know if he’s has the best judgement for people, but already he likes the vibes he gets from Piers.

While Piers is working on the metal stand, Raihan takes the time to greet the other’s parents, along with his little sister, Marnie. He chuckles as she shyly looks away, hiding behind her mother as she pulls out her phone. 

They make sure to dote on their son for a few moments, and Raihan looks away, listening as his mother chides him (“Don’t forget to do the laundry every week!”) and his father pats his shoulder with his own words (“You’ll do great, son. Just don’t make your roommate dye your hair for you.”). His sister pipes in, “Come home sometimes so we can practice together,” and Raihan watches from the corner of his eye as Piers ruffles her hair, a soft, “Of course,” escaping his lips. His family hugs him tight before leaving, and they say good-bye to Raihan too. 

“If my brother does anything to annoy you, just take his hair gel and he’ll stop being mean,” Marnie whispers to him, before catching up with her parents, and Raihan cackles because that’s absolutely _hilarious_. 

“What, what did she tell you?”

“Don’t worry about it, mate.”

Raihan is feeling absolutely great. His roommate seems like a blast to be with, his dorm has a great view of the pond, he has his own bathroom, and it seems like nothing could go wrong. Plus, Kabu was the RA for their floor _again_ this year, and Raihan couldn’t wait to go bother the Physics PHD candidate once more. 

Everything was looking up to be a great school year.

He hears footsteps out in the hall, heading closer towards their door and—

“Raihan, is that you?”

Scratch that. 

Raihan could recognize that voice anywhere, and he felt his world falling to pieces. Out of everyone in the world, why did it have to be _him_?

As he turns his head to look towards the door, he locks eyes with Leon. 

The same Leon who bested him all throughout high school, the same one that stood in the spotlight that Raihan desperately wanted for himself. The one who took his sports scholarship and the spot as king for their senior prom. The one who thrived in the spotlight, leaving Raihan in the dark.

The same Leon that he was lucky to avoid all throughout last year.

“Damnit.”

It escapes his lips (not so quietly) when he realizes Leon is heading into the dorm right across from his and Piers’. 

Guess luck wasn’t on his side this year.

Raihan walked up to the door, ignoring Piers’ “Who’s that?” and slipping the door stop out of its place. He smiles at Leon, forcing the corners of his lips to point upwards as he painfully pushed down any and all of his urges to just land a solid fist on Leon’s face and proceeded to close the door, staring into golden brown eyes before they disappeared behind the mahogany door.

Silence follows, as Piers simply stares at Raihan’s back, puzzled at the sudden action. 

“An old...acquaintance,” Raihan spits out, ignoring the annoyance that builds up in his chest, threatening to become red hot anger. It may have all happened in the past, but the fact remained that Raihan used to hate Leon with a burning passion.

Question is, does he still hate him?

An instant ‘yes’ resounds from his mind and he clicks his tongue.

Piers cocks an eyebrow and merely looks at Raihan, waiting for an explanation. A few moments pass and he sighs, realizing he wouldn’t get an answer out of him. 

“Well, as long as you guys aren’t at each other’s throats then it’s ok, I guess…” Piers murmurs, turning back to his stuff. “Wanna help me unpack?”

“Sure, dude.”

An hour goes by, and as Raihan helps Piers unpack his belongings, he learns more about the punk-loving man. He learns about the other’s dreams to compose music, how he fell in love with it since elementary school and how he aspires to create music for his little sister. In turn, Raihan tells him about his path, once filled with basketball, and now aimed towards history.

“Why the switch?” Piers asks, and Raihan bites his lip. It’s a valid question: sports to academia? What kind of switch is that anyways?

“Because the asshole living across from us took _my_ sports scholarship and basically made me realize I’ll never be enough to play basketball professionally,” Raihan _wants_ to say, but he refrains and instead mumbles, “Just didn’t think basketball was for me, and history was interesting in high school so...”

Piers hums, looking at Raihan’s defeated expression before commenting, “Huh. Well, I think you should keep playing. You look like you’d be good at it--but then again, I’m not too familiar with sports so you can also ignore what I’m talking about.”

“I can teach you a few basics if you wanna learn,” Raihan throws out, perking up a bit as he gave Piers a toothy grin.

Focus on Piers, focus on your new roommate, _not_ your neighbor living across the hall. Piers laughs nervously. 

“Maybe one day. I could teach you the guitar or piano, or something, in turn.”

“Sounds like a plan, Piers.”

They continue their game of twenty-one questions, going back and forth with a few comments thrown into the mix. As the sun begins to melt into the horizon, casting a soft orange hue across the campus, Piers and Raihan are spent, lying on the floor together because _finally_ they’ve unpacked everything and their dorm welcome checklist (courtesy of Kabu) is all filled out.

There’s a floor meeting in a few minutes and Raihan _really_ doesn’t want to go, because that means Leon will be staring at him from across the room as Kabu goes over mandatory protocol: don’t make noise during quiet hours, respect general rules, and the usual ‘If I find any of you having sex on this dorm floor I will personally kick you out.’ 

Raihan _still_ hasn’t figured out the story behind that last point, and he’s made it a goal to make his poor RA spill it to him, one day. 

_Maybe I can pester him after the meeting,_ Raihan thinks, and he forces himself to sit up, grunting as he feels his back pop. Piers follows, sighing as he hoists himself up onto his feet. 

“Meeting time.”

“Let’s get this over with,” Raihan groans. “Want to get dinner after?”

“Sounds like a plan.”

* * *

  
  


Thankfully, Leon doesn’t stare at him, at least, for the entirety of the meeting. Sitting on the old couch, Raihan makes sure to keep his eyes on Kabu, resisting the urge to turn his head towards Leon and shoo him away with a death glare.

The meeting ends quickly, and he and Piers hurry to sign-in sheet to scribble down their names before they blast out of the dorms, absolutely starving. It’s all a blur as they speed walk (read: sprint) to the nearest dining hall and Raihan suddenly finds himself with a plate of warm food. With his first bite, it’s just as Raihan remembers it, and thank the heavens that it isn’t bad, or else Raihan would’ve gone into even deeper debt by eating out for every meal. 

They inhale their food, little conversation between them, and as soon as they arrived at the dining hall, they’re back to their dorm, ready to call it a night. Raihan feels exhausted for no particular reason, and he could tell Piers felt the same way by the way his shoulders sagged and he let out a long yawn. 

Before they prepare for bed, the two made sure to establish a few ground rules. There were a few obvious ones in the bunch: don’t invite over friends without the other’s permission, let the other know if they’re going to be somewhere for the night or the weekend, and so on, but for the most part, there weren’t any rules that stood out.

That being said, the lights soon turned off and Raihan laid in bed, closing his eyes and fully ready to fall asleep. He thought about the day, meeting Piers, coming back to Wyndon, seeing a few familiar faces in the dorms, and—

Leon.

His nose scrunched up in distaste, and Raihan opened his eyes, staring up at the dark ceiling. Maybe he’ll still have his luck, and Leon will just be in the background for the year.

With that last thought, he closed his eyes and drifted into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

The next few days were a blur as Raihan settles back in, spending his time meeting his floormates, bothering Kabu, and bonding with Piers. Freshmen wander the campus, busy with their orientation, and Raihan enjoys the little time he has before he joins them scurrying across campus and finding his new routine. Soon enough, the first official day of classes begin, and Raihan wakes up bright and early, both excited for the new year and absolutely dreading the work that will soon start to pile on his shoulders.

Woohoo, college.

Piers is still asleep, with most of his classes in the afternoon and Raihan tip toes across the room, getting ready for the day. He brushes his teeth and washes his face in their bathroom (and Raihan has to thank the gods once more for gifting him a dorm with a private bathroom) before he pulls out some clothes from his closet. Making sure he has everything he needs, he slung his backpack over his shoulder, patting his pockets and checking if his phone and wallet are in their proper place before slipping on his shoes.

He exhales, looking over the room and relieved to see Pier’s still asleep in his den of blankets. There's a part of him that worries for a second that maybe Piers is actually dead under the blankets, or he’s suffocating silently at this very moment as he holds this internal monologue, but in the end, all he does is hope for the best for Piers. The door opens and closes without a single creak, and Raihan sets off.

Downstairs, another RA is at the front desk, and Raihan greets her with a wave and a smile that’s returned. He makes his way to the front door, heading outside and greeting the crisp morning air and familiar surroundings. He passes by the small fountain right outside of his dorm, and walks along the cobblestone paths that lead him towards main campus, where most of the buildings and facilities stand tall and proud against the blue sky.

In the distance, he hears the chorus of the bell tower, signaling the time with its heavy hum. He hears students chattering, laced with the bird’s songs as they flew by overhead. Once in a while, the stream of clicking enters his ears, a bicycle passing by and soon fading into nothingness. The sun is warm against his cheeks and a breeze runs through his hair, bringing in the crisp mountain air from the tabletops located north of the campus. It's a familiar feeling, one that he remembers quite clearly from last year.

This was Wyndon University.

Pulling out his phone, he checks his schedule once more.

“Circhester Building...Circhester...” Raihan mumbles to himself, searching through his memory of last year. He let out a small hum of victory when he remembered: it was near the main plaza with the large fountain, the building with the statue of Dean Rose in front of it.

With a slight spring in his step, he set off, tucking away his phone in his pocket and holding his head up high. The morning was still early, yet there were many students out and about, some heading to classes, others wandering and exploring. 

As he passed by the fountain, he let out a sigh as his eyes found a certain figure standing in front of the stone structure. 

His luck was truly gone, wasn’t it?

Maybe if he turned his head and simply avoided making eye contact, he could pass by without any interaction. He prays that Leon doesn’t notice him, because he’s not _that_ desperate to walk back from where he came from, and then circle around the entire plaza. He doesn’t even think about walking through the small gardens or perfectly mowed grass, because in the distance he sees Oleana and he was not making the same mistake as he did last year.

Just keep walking, don’t look at him, keep going...

It was a good plan in his head: just walk straight and don’t look at Leon. There’s one thing that Raihan notices about Leon from the corner of his eye: he is looking extremely lost, and maybe if he didn’t hate the poor guy, he would’ve helped him.

Oh well, he thinks to himself. Not my problem.

As Raihan thinks this, he realizes, well, the execution of his plan could have been better because he suddenly sees golden eyes and—

“Raihan, good morning!”

He stopped in his tracks, rolling his eyes because, fuck, why the hell did Leon whip around as if he _knew_ Raihan was passing behind him? Raihan debates whether he should continue walking or accept his bad luck and just face Leon because Raihan isn’t a _bad_ guy, and he’s also not the same, bratty kid as he was in high school, after all. Freshman year of college had changed him, and he was more mature, more grown up unlike emotionally ok-but-not-really-ok, high school senior Raihan.

But at that very moment, he was just about to book it. That’d be mean, yes, but he really, _really_ didn’t want to deal with Leon this early in the morning.

_Just help the guy out and never talk to him again. Don’t ruin your image and just play nice._

Breathing in and letting the cool morning air calm him, he turned around, ignoring the protests of his conscious and plastering a fake smile on his face.

“Hey, what’s up, man?” he asks, because he’s a good person who’ll respect Leon just as he respects his friends. 

That’s a fucking lie and he knows it, but he doesn’t want random strangers around them to think he’s a complete asshole. Even if it’s not genuine respect, it’s the outside that counts, right? 

“I’m not sure where my class is and I’m struggling a bit with the campus map,” Leon answers, and Raihan has to try his best to not burst out laughing. This man was a valedictorian in high school and he can’t read a map for crying out loud? So instead he coughs into his hand, turning away for a moment to wipe the grin off his face before turning back to Leon. 

“Alright, let me see your schedule,” Raihan says, taking the phone from Leon’s hand a bit harshly as he looks at the screen. 

“Circhester… Hold up,” he pauses, rereading the room number and course name a few times over. 

Just his luck (or lack of luck, he supposes). 

“We’re in the same class. Same section and all.”

“Really?” Leon has the gall to look excited. What a fool, Raihan thinks. “Mind if I walk with you?”

“I don't care” Raihan answers instantly, turning on his heel. “It’s just that building up ahead. Don’t be late”

He doesn’t wait for Leon’s response, walking with purposefully long strides as he listens to Leon’s hurried ones as he quickly catches up. He doesn’t respond to Leon’s soft “Thank you” and continues walking. 

Raihan is a nice guy, to anyone but Leon, but he doesn’t know if he can keep up a fake smile around Leon forever.

(He thinks he’ll last less than a day, and that’s honestly a lot, he has to admit)

Everytime he looks at Leon, there’a flare of anger threatening to spill from his chest. With the silence shared between them, his brain can’t help but rewind to the past. He’s still pissed that Leon took his sports scholarship, and he’s pissed that he was prom king and everybody only had eyes for Leon, Leon, Leon. Graduation came, and he was furious for Leon taking the spotlight, not only as one of the graduation speakers, but the class valedictorian. 

Raihan was _so_ close. So undeniably, painfully close to getting everything he wanted until it was all stolen from his grasp. Ripped away from his hands from a man who pretended like he wasn’t guilty.

He wouldn’t forgive Leon.

 _Forget it, forget it! You’ve moved on,_ Raihan reminds himself. _You’re a different man from before, you’ve changed!_ But there’s an irritating spark that runs through his veins that just doesn’t disappear.

A few minutes pass as they walk in silence. Leon had tried to engage in some small talk, throwing out a, “How was your morning?” and a “Do you like your roommate?” in which Raihan provides single word answers to. Thankfully, Leon takes the hint and decides to leave him alone, opting to avert his gaze as they head into the building. Their lecture room isn’t far from the entrance, and Raihan hurries inside, looking for an empty spot and praying Leon doesn’t follow him.

Again, his prayers go unanswered and Leon plops down in the seat next to him, pulling out his notebook and pencils. Raihan is undoubtedly, just slightly irked as he watches Leon flip to a new page, writing down the date in the top corner and whatnot during the few moments they had before the lecture for their general writing course officially began.

Bless the professor for beginning his spiel. Raihan quickly pulls out his own notebook, beginning to jot down a few basic rules and key notes of the presentation. It didn’t look too bad: a few papers due throughout the semester, a required writing seminar to go to, along with a few workshops hosted by the language department. 

The lecture ends early, the professor bidding them a good first day back, along with, “Make sure to look over your first assignment on the website. Let’s have a good year, folks.”

A familiar noise enters the lecture room, consisting of the rustle of papers as their stuffed into backpacks and the squeaking of the chairs as students begin to stand up and filter out of the lecture room. Raihan quickly follows the crowd.

“Hey—wait, Raihan!”

Determined, Raihan continued walking, leaving the lecture hall without looking back. He imagined Leon looking hurt, like a kicked puppy as he stared at his retreating figure.

 _Ha,_ Raihan voices in his mind, heading to his next lecture in ten minutes. _He can put on that sad face, for all I care. I won’t let him play me like a fool._

His chest is filled with anger and frustration, yet he keeps it in, locking it tight inside his thoughts. He won’t let Leon ruin this school year for him, even if it meant he would go back to high school Raihan tactics.

Perhaps he won’t be a good guy to Leon after all.


	2. - two -

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a little bit of leon's feelings, featuring other charas we know and love <3

The first week of classes had flown by, and Leon was already back to his regular routine. Every morning he would wake up at six on the dot, get ready for the day, do some homework (and now, go over lesson plans for his math recitation), then begin his classes for the day. 

The only things that were different this year was that he was a teaching assistant for Calculus II, and Raihan was back in his life once more.

But it wasn’t a happy reunion, without a doubt.

Even after a whole year of not seeing each other, Leon was still confused as to why Raihan was so hostile to him. He wasn’t dumb: he could tell Raihan had a short temper with him, and he went out of his way to avoid Leon. 

But why?

Acknowledging that his mind was beginning to wander, he leaned back in his seat, ignoring his math homework that lay in front of him. He lifted his arm up, tapping his pencil against his chin as he sorted through his memory, going all the way back to high school. 

Freshman, Sophomore, Junior year, those were times when Raihan was rather...nice to him. Perhaps “nice” wasn’t the right word, but it was close enough. They were friendly rivals—well, at least, that’s what Leon would like to call their relationship in high school. 

They weren’t quite friends, despite Leon’s desire to be, but a rivalry was the best way to describe it.

But perhaps that didn’t apply to what they had senior year. 

The first month or two were no different than junior year. The two would always have little competitions: who could get a higher grade on the Trigonometry exam, who could run the mile the fastest, who could win during small competitions during their spirit days, and other minor things like that.

But afterwards, Raihan was different.

Leon doesn’t remember exactly when he became different, but without a doubt, Raihan had changed.

He’d turn his back on Leon, walk away whenever he tried to talk to him, and the light in his eyes changed. 

Friendly, lighthearted, bright eyes turned dark and menacing, a deep turquoise that Leon has no idea where it came from.

What had gone wrong? Where did he take a wrong turn? He never wanted the feeling of triumph and victory in his chest (though, it was nice to be at the top, he admits). All Leon ever wanted out of these insignificant contests was to grow closer to Raihan.

In the beginning, he simply wanted them to be friends. Raihan seemed like a good guy: trustworthy, funny, intelligent, and easy to talk to. Yet those feelings changed, and at this point in time Leon knows what it is. At least, he thinks he knows what it is, after the countless times he went to Sonia for help.

He loves Raihan.

Despite the glares and the cold gestures toward him, Leon remains firm with his emotions. No matter how many times Sonia tells him to “move on” and find another man, he’s persistent because he just wants Raihan and only Raihan.

Another sigh escapes his lips and he shakes his head, clearing out the thoughts and focusing on his homework once more. 

Perhaps it’ll get better once he starts talking to him more. The opportunity is there and Leon won’t hesitate.

* * *

  
  


Even though Leon is doing his best to take advantage of this opportunity, it’s not getting any better.

He tries to talk to Raihan before and after their writing lecture every other morning, but he’s unsuccessful, with most of his attempts ignored. Leon bets that he’s received more grunts and silence than actual answers.

At the moment, he was inside his dorm, trying to work on an essay that was due in a few days. With a defeated groan, he puts his head on his desk. 

“Everything alright?” 

Leon looks up to a worried looking Milo as he turns to look at him, and he shakes his head at his roommate.

“I’d be lying if I said yes,” he tells him honestly. “Don’t worry about it, just worried about a few things, that’s all.”

Milo glances at him, a small frown on his lips as he assures him, “If you need somebody, I’ll be here to listen.”

“Thank you, Milo.”

They fall back into a comfortable silence, and Leon finally has the motivation to continue writing his essay. About halfway through, Milo packs up his things, telling Leon that he’s going to meet with a study group before he leaves their dorm, a soft “good luck” escaping from the man’s lips as he shuts the door behind him.

Leon’s left alone in the dorm—actually, that’s false. He smiles as he looks over at Char, his red salamander who was sitting on his little rock, eyes blinking as it began to wander its glass vivarium that sat on top of the nightstand next to his desk. The blanket was pulled up, letting Char see the outside world of Leon’s dorm.

Kabu had no doubtedly seen her during moving day, and all he did in response was motion with his hands. A zip of the lips and a slicing motion across his throat translated to “Keep quiet, or else you’re dead.”

Poor Kabu. He’s dealt with too much, but he’s still nice to Leon.

Which is why he’s already planning out how he’ll hide Char during their occasional roomcheck, aka sneaking her entire glass cage down the stairs to Sonia’s room while the RAs are on the second floor. 

And also hiding the cricket snacks and dried worms in his backpack.

Gross, but it’s for his baby.

“The lengths I go for you,” Leon says, looking at Char who merely eats a dried worm. “I love you, but maybe, I don’t know, return the favor or something, girl.”

Char chews on the dried worm, swallows, and her tongue darts out to grab another one. 

Leon sighs.

Calculus homework awaits, and he returns to his work, silence broken by the small crunches from Char and the thoughts of Raihan looming over him.

* * *

  
  


“You’re telling me, Raihan—the Raihan you’re still pining over, lives across from you?”

Sonia takes a sip of her boba, leaning closer to Leon who sits across from her in the small booth. The male nods, and he watches as Sonia leans back, seemingly dissatisfied with his answer.

“You know, it would’ve been nice if you texted me this when you found out and not a few weeks later. I could’ve beat him up for you.”

“The dorms aren’t a fight club, Sonia,” Leon tells her. “Also, I’m not ‘pining’ over Raihan!”

“Then explain why you keep wanting to talk to him and kiss him and have him bend you over a desk and—”

“Sonia!”

“Facts!”

She points an accusing finger at him and he sits back down, covering his pink cheeks with his hands. A small ‘ding’ comes from her phone, and she quickly types out a message as Leon takes another sip of his drink.

“So?”

“So what?” Leon instantly replies, raising an eyebrow at Sonia’s vague question.

“You gonna ask him out or something? Serenade him outside his dorm?”

“I don’t know,” Leon admits. “I have one lecture with him and I try to talk to him before and after it, but he leaves before I can even say hi.”

Leon sighs, using his straw to mix around the remaining boba settled at the bottom of his cup. He avoids Sonia’s eyes, feeling her judgmental, exasperated look. It reminds him of the end of freshman year in high school, when he first realized he was in love with him (but it was more of a puppy love than now) and he dragged Sonia to the Coffee Cafe down the street for emotional support.

She’s been with him ever since.

“It’s honestly up to you,” Sonia shrugs. “It’s a chance to get on his good side...maybe.”

“Maybe,” Leon sighs, because obviously, it hasn’t been working so far. Perhaps it made Raihan dislike him more, who knows?

“What about you?”

“What about me?” Sonia parrots, raising an eyebrow. 

“How’s that one girl you met--uh, Nessa, doing?”

Sonia perks up, the mention of her new friend’s name making her smile brightly. 

“She’s great!” Sonia answers. “We’re planning to meet up and study together for our marine biology quiz in her dorm tonight.”

Leon takes a moment and watches Sonia, listening vaguely to her continuing about how “absolutely amazing” Nessa is and how she’s always “looking so fine” with her fashion sense (she’s a fashion design major, after all).

Sonia pauses as she looks over, taking in Leon’s sly smirk and his knowing look and she huffs. Ok, maybe she’s a tiny bit more than a friend, but they aren’t officially there yet. 

“Oh, haha,” she says sarcastically, rolling her eyes. “At least I’m making my move.”

She crosses her arms. 

“Anyways, enough about our crushes. How’s Hop doing? I hope junior year isn’t too hard on him.”

The mention of his little brother’s name is enough to take him out of his disappointed stupor, a proud grin replacing his frown almost immediately. 

“He’s doing great!” Leon says. “We text pretty often, and he told me he’s doing okay in all of his classes. Actually, he’s supposed to stop by later after school.”

“Dang, look at him go,” Sonia comments. “I wish our junior year went that smoothly. Well, then again, it’s still early in the year. Say hi to him for me.”

“Will do.”

They spend a few more minutes sharing small talk, asking about classes, homework assignments, whether they’re free the next week for “(Milk) Tea Time with Sonia” as she calls it, and complaints about school. It’s college, after all.

“Oh!” Sonia looks at her phone, and Leon can’t help but peek over, reading the words upside down on her screen.

“Nessa wants to know if I want to grab lunch right now,” she says, quickly putting her jacket on and slinging her bag over her shoulder. “Sorry, Leon, tea time is getting cut short.”

“Don’t worry about it.” He waved a hand in a dismissive manner. “Let’s get together next week.”

“Sounds good, see you!”

With that, she left the cafe, speed-walking down the sidewalk and Leon watched her figure before it disappeared from the window. 

“Pining, huh?”

She was always right, and the taste of his boba suddenly turned bitter.

* * *

  
  


The dorm buildings are open to everyone during the weekdays, but to access the dorm halls themselves, one needed their student ID card to be scanned in. Leon had to admit, he forgot that for a few moments, only realizing when he read Hop’s text signaling his (and Victor’s) arrival. He bolted down the stairs, opening the locked doors and spotting the two high schoolers near the front desk.

“Lee! Took you long enough.”

“Sorry, didn’t look at my phone until now--and hey, Victor! It’s nice to see you.”

He nods in response, a quiet, but polite, “Good to see you too,” escaping his lips. They follow Leon through the doors and up the stairs, weaving through the halls until they reach his dorm. Ushering them inside, he follows as Hop throws his backpack to the floor, jumping onto Leon’s bed while Victor simply takes a few steps in, choosing to look around the room before settling on the floor next to the bed. 

“So, welcome to my dorm,” Leon says with a little flourish. “My roommate, Milo, won’t be back until later, but if you guys stay you might be able to meet him.”

“We have to go home soon so we can study for a history exam in a few days,” Hop responds, rolling over onto his back. “Maybe next time. But for now…”

He pauses, and smiles, a cheshire grin as he looks at Leon.

“Help us with math homework, Lee.”

Leon sighs because of course this is why they’re here, to use him like some resource. 

“Alright, you rascals better buckle down because I’m about to drill this calculus into you.”

The two take out their math homework, scrambling to the floor as Leon sits himself down, some scratch paper and a mechanical pencil in hand. He puts on his glasses and peers at Hop’s worksheet, full of integrals among other equations.

“Ok, so tell me what you need help on…”

He doesn’t mind how long it takes for both of them to fully understand the topics. In fact, they understand pretty quickly, and Leon is thankful for his TA skills coming into action. It’s a good distraction from his current thoughts on Raihan, and he always put aside time to help his brother. Hop aggressively circles his final answer on his paper before he whoops, pumping a fist before he quickly deflates, leaning back on his palms as he looks up at Leon’s ceiling.

“Finally! That took way too long, but it makes so much more sense--hey, Lee, just be our calc teacher!”

“If you pay me, I’m down.”

“...I’m just a high schooler with twenty-two dollars in his wallet.”

“Sucks to suck.”

Leon reaches over, and Hop finds himself in a headlock, Leon’s fist rubbing at his head rather roughly. 

“Hey, hey! Not the hair!”

Leon laughs, a genuine laugh that makes him forget about all the worries that were on his chest before and he hears Hop laugh along with Victor and he just wants to stay like that for a bit longer.

* * *

  
  


“So, don’t you have work to do? Aren’t college kids either really busy or really bored with their lives?”

Hop is currently situated in Leon’s chair, spinning around as he stares up at the ceiling while Victor takes Milo’s chair, looking at Leon who simply sits cross legged on the floor. He looks up from his phone, raising an eyebrow before he answers, “I have some quizzes to grade from my recitation, and just a few notes to take later tonight.”

“Doesn’t sound that bad,” Hop comments. “What about, I don’t know, do you have friends? Is Sonia still around?”

“Oh, yeah, we met up earlier today,” Leon responds. “She says, hi, by the way.”

“Tell her we said hi back! And tell her to update Sparky’s instagram, I want to see more photos!”

Ah, yes. Sparky. Sonia’s beloved corgi that somehow has more followers than Leon could ever imagine. One day he’ll visit Sonia’s apartment to see that little fluff ball.

“Sure thing.”

They banter for a bit longer, just like the old days where the three of them were sprawled out in Leon’s bedroom at home. 

“Hop, we should get going,” Victor says, and Hop quickly looks down at his phone, eyes darting to the time and an exaggerated sigh escaping his lips. 

“Already? Damn, guess the time really flew by.”

“Language!”

Hop blew a raspberry, and Leon stuck out his tongue in response. The younger two began packing their stuff, making sure their homework was done and safely put away in their binders and before Leon knew it, they were making their way out the door.

“I’ll tell Mom you’re doing fine. Need anything from home? I can get it next time I drop by with Victor.”

“Nothing I can think of right now, but thanks,” Leon leans against the door frame, looking at Hop with a soft smile. “If you need any help you know my door is always open.”

“Now that’s what I like to hear!” Hop cheers, grinning brightly. “Don’t forget to do your own work, Lee. We’ll see you later!” 

He spins on his heel, heading down the hall as Victor waves at Leon before soon following. Returning to his desk, he sighs.

Maybe it’s time for dinner.

* * *

  
  


Hop and Victor continue their banter from before as they head downstairs, talking about their classmates and school and what flavor gummy bear they prefer and a lot of other random things. 

“I’m just saying!” Hop exclaims, his hands out in front of him accentuating his point. “The sour ones are the best, and--”

He stops mid sentence, staring near the common room that’s past the front desk and Victor follows, seeing a familiar figure at the water fountain, filling up his water bottle.

“That’s Raihan, isn't’ it?” Victor whispers and Hop nods, and before Victor can say anything more, his friend darts off, jumping down half a flight of stairs and jogging up to the taller male. 

“Yo, Raihan!”

He turns around at the call of his name, and his face instantly brightens at the sight of the shorter boy. 

“Hop! What are you doing here, kiddo?”

“Please, I’m only two years younger than you.”

“You’re basically a baby to me.”

They bicker a bit more, but as Victor catches up, he can see that they’re both happy to see the other again, genuinely smiling as they exchange words.

“So, again, because you didn’t answer me earlier: what is my favorite band kiddo doing here?”

And indeed, Hop was Raihan’s favorite band kiddo. While he was on percussion, Hop was on trombone, and somehow, they were an unstoppable duo.

By unstoppable, he means, they simply were so chaotic together that their band director had sighed and given up on them. 

One of his favorite memories from band has to be when freshman year Hop had sat on Raihan’s shoulders, blasting the Mii theme on his trombone as they ran across the school corridors, a few teachers yelling at them from their open door classrooms.

Ah, memories.

“Just stopped by to say hi to my brother, and also get some math help.”

“Nice. Woulda offered you some help, but I don’t know a sliver of math so, can’t help you there.”

“No worries,” Hop answers. He turns his head and looks out the window, the darkening sky making his eyes widen and he makes a startled noise. “Uh oh. We have to get going, so we’ll see you later, Rai!”

“See you! Careful on your way home,” Raihan chides, waving at the two boys who run back up the stairs, quickly disappearing from sight and leaving him alone once more.

Hm, he didn’t realize Hop had a brother. Who could it be?

Oh well. Perhaps he could meet him one day. Maybe they’d get along well.

If only he knew. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> in regard to the current situation, all of you stay safe out there! i will continue to update as soon as I can. for the mean time, i also made a ko-fi, and any donations would be very appreciated for a suffering college student like me;;  
> \-- ko-fi.com/spadablu  
> Thank you so much for reading! I'm grateful for your kudos, comments, and support~


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